The story of the California beaver summit is changing. Day by day, conversation by conversation, email by email, it’s shifting from a retelling of the little red hen to an amazing pantomime production of stone soup.
You know the story right? A poor peddler comes into town begging for food and gets nothing from the impoverished villagers, then cleverly says he could actually make a delicious soup from a single stone if he only had a pot to do it.
Feeling curious and a little bit sorry for him the old woman gives him a pot in which he heats water, tosses his stone to the bottom and eagerly rubs his hands in anticipation. He tells her it’s going to be delicious and she is welcome to some. Then comments on how much better it would be if he only had an onion.
So the old woman gives him an onion and he cuts it up and tosses it in.
People gather around to see what he’s doing and he proudly exclaims he’s making the most delicious soup in the world from a single stone and everyone comments that its impossible but starting to smell delicious. He says he learned how to do it from a magician in the East and says the only thing that could possibly make it better is a potato.
So a farmer gives him a potato. And he cuts it up and tosses it into the bubbling pot and it smells even better.
He assures the gathering crowd that it’s going to be delicious and tells everyone to bring their bowls because they will all want to try it and maybe they should all sit together under the trees and celebrate. And promises that there is nothing like it in the world and the only thing that could possibly make it any better is a carrot.
So the merchant gives him a carrot.
You know this story. The peddler goes about getting ingredient donations from the village that told him they had nothing to donate and eventually winds up with a fine soup that has nothing at all to do with the stone. It has been said that the story is about what is best about community building and that the peddler is like the best quality in a politician, who organizes the efforts of everyone into an achievable goal that benefits the entire community equally.
Life has taught us there are plenty of peddlers who walk away with the delicious soup themselves and never share a drop or give back anything.
But when it actually works it’s pretty wonderful.
And that is how I feel about the beaver summit now. The origin of which – if truth be told – might have been a stone in a pot that the village comes too curiously see if it can really happen. I had nothing to offer but the idea and have no magical powers to make it happen. But some really important people with a everything to offer are climbing aboard. And each little bit of support is making the soup better and giving me courage to ask for more. This is the line up for our first steering committee meeting next week, all of whom who have expressed interest in presenting.
Initial planning meeting California Beaver Summit
- Emily Fairfax – Cal State Channel Islands/Environmental studies
- Karen Pope – USFS Pacific Southwest Station Research Aquatic Ecologist
- Joe Wheaton – Watershed Sciences Utah State
- Damion Ciotti – FWS Tribal program coordinator
- Jeff Baldwin – Sonoma State/Geography Environment & Planning
- Elizabeth Johnson – Biodiversity First & San Luis Obispo beaver brigade
- Brock Dolman – OAEC Water Institute
- Kate Lundquist -OAEC Bring back beaver campaign
- Jackie Van Der Hout – California Urban Streams Partnership/Outreach & Education
- Zane Eddy – Humboldt State Humans & Ecology Interaction MS candidate.
- Rick Lanman – Historical Ecology Center
- Jennifer Rippert – California Department Fish Wildlife – Habitat Conservation Scientist
- Heidi Perryman – Worth A Dam
Wow. I honestly can’t believe it. Get ready for some delicious soup!
@beaverbabyfurrylove Sometimes cute and playful. I enjoy while it lasts. He mostly just wants the nurturing feeling he would get from his family. #FamilyImpression #fyp
